Method of building sewers and tunnels



J. WINTERBOUOM.

METHOD or Buumwc sEwERs AND TUNNELS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 2, 1919.

Patented Ma1n22), 1921.

muuutoz @mung S ws-fr. n

JOSEPH VJINTERBOTTOM, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

METI-IQD OF B'ULDNG SEERS AND TUNNELS.

nsvasss.

Application filed September 2, 1919.

ffl

i o all whom it may concern.'

le it 1nnown that l, Josnrrr lllfrnrnnnorroar, citizen of the United States, residing; at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Methods of Building' Sewers and Tunnels, of which the following is a specification.

The invention herein consists in a new and original method of building city sewers and underground tunnels generally, and the method contemplates a sewer or tunnel havcontinuous concrete wall built therein contemporaneously or step by step as the worlr of excavation progresses, the plan being' to build by tunneling rather than diggingV down from the top of the ground and excaiuti-np,` all the earth to the bottom of the tunnel as has heretofore been the universal practice, especially for se vers or the like which have been walled with concrete. My method distinguishes from everything' herotofore known by tunneling and then boring` down to the tunnel from the surface at suitable intervals and pouring the concrete in a flowing state in the open .space between the earthen wall and a suitable cylindrical form or support temporarily and removably positioned in the tunnel, all as shown and specilically described herein.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a cross section of a tunnel or sewer on the line of one of the bores for pouring,v the concrete, and 2 is a longitudinal section of a 1iortion of a tunnel equipped with my improved means for carrying out the invention and showinga section of the cement wall at the right. Fig. 3 is a cross section of the form or cylinder around which the concrete is adapted to flow to build up the wall, and shown as partially contracted. or collapsed. Fig. t shows a section of the iiange or rim on the inner ond of the form as seen also in Figs. l and 5, and Fig. 5 is a sectional detail showing,` the means by which said flange is secured to the form or cylinder. Both ends of the cylinder may be equipped with a flange.

The tunnel disclosed in Fig. 2 illustrates my conception. rlhus, the worlr has pro- Lgressed far enough to have poured a section of concrete wall c, say of the length of the cylinder or cylindrical form 2, and which may have any length that is found practicable, say from ten to twenty or thirty feet or more, and which may be somewhat de Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar.. 29, 1921i.

serial no. 321,295. y

pendent on the fluidity of the mixture and of the size ofthe aggregates, as well as on other conditions found to obtain in the operation in sand or 0'ravel or rocks or clay. A length of twenty-five feet to the form is found to be entirelypractical and provides a perfectly solid wall of uniform density without air cells or other objectionable defects. lt is to be understood, also, that excavation is supposed to be going forwardin advance of the form or cylinder while it is in position to be poured and during the operation of pouring the concrete because this worlr is outside of the cylinder and the intervening space is jaclreted against escape of the mixture at its otherwise open endJ by a flange or rim 3 secured in adjustable sections to the end of the cylinder, and the cylinder is shown as split lengthwise to be contracted or collapsed more or less change of position, and is also provided with suitable means to expand or contract the same, suoli as a turnbuclle 4l and links 5 or the mechanical equivalent.

rlhe cylinder is also provided with tracks l for the car 8 to carry out the earth and is designed to remain in position after a pouring` until the concrete has sot or hardened suiiiciently to be self sustaining', which occurs in say four or five hours, and it is then collapsed and moved forward for pourn ing another section and so on to the end. A special pouring` tube or funnel 9 is provided for the bore 6, and if for any reason it is thought best to contribute to the agitation of the mixture in its passage through this funnel l may place cross rods or wires therein in staggered relation. Possibly it should be explained that the concrete is delivered under agitation directly to said funnel, which is about six inches across, and that the aggregates are carried by the flood uniformly to all portions of the wall space.

Tldespecting the method disclosed herein, it

kis to be observed that l dispense entirely with the full depth excavation which has hitherto been necessary in the construction of a solid continuous tunnel wall of concrete, and proceed by tunneling alone, thus avoiding the expense and delay of heavy earth excavations to form the necessary cut or trench and leaving the surface entirely undisturbed except to provide the occasional bores for pouring the concrete, and one or more may be used for a given cylinder. Otherwise, in the operation of tunneling the work can proceed according to the physical conditions in the nature of the earth and under the usual engineering practices in tne building or makingot tunnels inl so tar as protecting the walls and providing for the safety and comfort of workmen is concerned, and my invention does not extend to or involve these considerations, Rather l have to do only with providing the tunnel, and building therein a solid continuous unitied concrete structure which has the exterior of the tunnel as its outer wall and the cylindrical form erected therein as its inner wall for pouring and building purposes. The said form or cylinder is centered by stays l2 at bottom and sides, which are embedded. in the concrete when the tunnel is completed.

It should be understood that l do not limit myself' to the exact construction oi' cylinder shown herein in carrying out the method oi building a tube or tunnel ot concrete, as to say, the inner wall or cylinder tube may loe erected in sections by building segmental portions one upon the other until a complete cylinder is obtained. Furthermore, the pouring or the concrete may be directed through the tube or tunnel 9 to the space beneath the cylinder' or the lower section or a cylinder before the complete cylinder completed. Then the side walls and the upper portion of the cylinder can be secured in place and the continuation of the pouring ot this concrete can complete the concrete wall. Excavating of the tunnel proceeds in advance of the forming of the concrete tube and the use of air locks or bridge heads and many ot the usual devices and modes oi? operation in tunneling may be practised in connection with my method of pouring the concrete.

1What l claim is:

1. The method herein described oit building concrete sewers and the like, which consists, lirst, in excavating a tunnel oi the size ot the proposed exterior and boring one or more holes between the surface oi the earth and the tunnel thus formed, then erect- 'ing a iorm in the tunnel of the size the interior ot the sewer is to be and apart from the outer wall of the tunnel and then pouring a flowing cement mixture into the intervening space through said hole until said space is iilled with the mixture..

2. The method of constructing a concrete wall for a sewer or tunnel, consisting in iirst excavating the tunnel to a partial depth in theearth and boring one or more holes between the same and the surface or the earth, then placing a cylinder in the tunnel at a uniform distance all around from the wall thereof and jacketing the intervening space at the ends, then pouring the concrete mixture into the said space from the top through said holes until the space is iilled.

3. A method of providing a tunnel with a solid concrete lining consisting as a first step in tunneling into the earth and then boring vertical passages extending from the tunnel to the surface ot the earth; then erecting an inner sustaining wall apart from the wall ot' the tunnel and then pouring vflowing concrete into said space through the said vertical passages until the space be" tween the said walls is filled with concrete.

lf The method herein described of gouring a concrete lined tunnel, consisting in first forming tunnel of the desired size in the earth and then boring passages thereto from the earths surface and temporarily lining the same to `protect the said passages, then placing a cylindrical wall in the tunnel beoath said passages and apart from the wall oi the tunnel allL around, and then pouring a ilowing concrete mixture through said passages into the space between said walls until said space is completely filled with the said mixture.

Signed at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, this 19th day of July, 1919.

JOSEPH WlNTERBOTTOM. 

